Dear Helen: We have a rambler rose that we’ve been trying to keep trained neatly against a fence. Despite our efforts, the plant always gets away on us with rampant growth that reaches out to smother shrubs and perennials growing in front of it. The rose has just one bloom period, in early June. K.D.
Most once-flowering, rambling roses will range far and wide unless they are severely constrained. Their naturally vigorous growth habit can serve useful purposes. Allowed to climb into trees, clothe buildings or cover banks, the plants can become quite magnificent laws unto themselves. Your situation, however, calls for intervention.
I have two such roses. One, in a spacious back corner of the garden, grows over a stout arbour and onto the roof of a shed. Its slim canes also make broad arches of June bloom in other directions. I leave it mostly alone except to clear away growth that impedes progress through the garden. Once in a while I renew the plant by thinning it down to a few young canes.
An Albertine rambler at the front fence requires the same sort of hands-on approach that your rose does. As main framework canes elongate, I weave them along the fence, using the well-spaced fence slats as anchoring agents. They could also be tied in. I shorten any main canes that become inconveniently long.
After flowering has finished I cut back all the side growth proceeding from the main canes, retaining just one or two leaves on this secondary, flowered growth. This pruning yields a plant that grows tight against the fence. New growth will produce the following year’s flowers.
In late winter I do any necessary follow-up pruning to remove growth that has strayed too far from the fence.
Dear Helen: In a column earlier in the year you mentioned a new kind of netting or row cover for protecting certain plantings against insect infestation. Is it superior to the usual floating row covers that are tucked into the soil around seedings of beets and spinach as a barrier to the leaf miner fly?
The newer insect netting (Proteknet) is a synthetic knitted mesh that is more long-lasting and lets in more light, air and moisture than the more familiar lightweight spun-bonded material covers. I’m trying Proteknet for the first time this year and appreciate that I can see the plants clearly through it. The other floating row covers are better for gathering warmth within them, however.
Proteknet is best used with PVC hoops to hold it above the plants. It has been available at Russell Nursery in North Saanich and at Dinters in Duncan, and can be purchased by mail order from William Dam Seeds.
GARDEN EVENTS
Christ Church Cathedral floral celebration. Christ Church Cathedral, Quadra at Rockland in Victoria, is celebrating 150 years of community service with a Festival of Flowers on Saturday from noon-4:30 p.m. and Sunday, 12:30-4:30 p.m. The event will feature floral displays, live music, art, and a strawberry tea from 2 to 4 p.m. on the South Lawn/Chapter Room. Admission is by donation. christchurchcathedral.bc.ca.
Denman tour. The 22nd Denman Island Home and Garden tour will take place this Saturday and Sunday and will include an organic vineyard, a handcrafted straw-bale home on a permaculture farm, and a magical garden with more than 100 clematis vines and roses. Tickets with directions to the 10 sites, at $20, will be available at denmanisland.com/denman/home-garden-tour. Proceeds go to the Denman Conservancy Association.
Plant sale. The Esquimalt Garden Club will hold a sale of perennials, hanging baskets and herb pots on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. as part of Buccaneer Days at the Archie Browning Centre.
Teeny Tiny tour. The 10th Annual teeny tiny Garden Tour in support of Victoria Hospice will take place on Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with 10 of Victoria’s smallest backyard gems on display. Tickets with map and guide at $25 are available at Thrifty Foods, Dig This, Capital Iron, and the Mayfair concierge desk.
View Royal show. Non-member exhibits are welcome at the June 20 View Royal Garden Club summer show. Information at 250-727-0076 or 250-658-9495.
